Head Over Heels Athletic Arts Welcomes Great Britain’s City of Birmingham Gymnastics Club

Emeryville, California (EastBayDaily) — Head Over Heels Athletic Arts (HOH) is pleased to announce the arrival of a group of athletes from the City of Birmingham Gymnastics Club (CBGC) who have come to train and compete with HOH’s Boy’s Team athletes while hosted by a HOH Boy’s Team family. Many of these athletes, ranging in ages from 10 to 18 years, are on the Welsh National Team. Arriving on February 13th, CBGC competed along with HOH’s Boy’s Team at the Azarian Team Cup in Southern California.

This cultural exchange was arranged by Michael Ashe, former USA National Champion and HOH’s Boy’s Team Program Director, and former British National Champion and HOH Coach, David Eaton. Ashe and Eaton met at the age of 15 during a similar gym exchange where Ashe’s family hosted Eaton and vise versa. Ashe went on to earn many honors throughout his competitive career. In addition to his work at HOH he is the vice president of the Northern California Gymnastics Judges Association, regional technical director of the National Gymnastics Judges Association, and the state technical director of the Northern California Boys Gymnastics Association. Eaton went on to be World Champion Team Member, the Northern European Champion, and a Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist. The two competed together for the University of California, Berkeley Men’s Gymnastics Team and are still close friends.

“We felt initiating this exchange was important for the growth of our boy’s team program,” says Eaton. “City of Birmingham has risen to become one of the best men’s gymnastics programs in the world. We hope the HOH boys can learn a lot but, mostly, that the exchange creates many lasting friendships.”

The British athletes will be in the Bay Area until February 23rd. It is planned for next year to have HOH’s Optional Boy’s Team travel to the City of Birmingham to train and compete while staying with a British family. Ashe and Eaton feel these types of exchanges build lasting friendships while giving athletes and their coaches the opportunity to share training techniques.